


in their own key

by FoxGlade



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Aromantic Characters, Crew as Family, Gen, Queerplatonic Relationships, amanomativity IN SPACE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 08:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6072331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxGlade/pseuds/FoxGlade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It hadn't struck Ezra as odd until now, but - he'd never seen Kanan and Hera kiss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	in their own key

**Author's Note:**

> folks it is (the end of) aromantic awareness week 2016 and im here to spread the good word that is queerplatonic kanan/hera. you can blame shena for me being so emotional about these space parents and their adopted space kids
> 
> apologies for any errors, i wrote 80% of this on my ipad (due to my laptop's unfortunate self-destruction), which has... slightly unreliable autocorrect. and to anyone following my other star wars fic, this system may let me update sooner than expected, but no promises :/

Firefights that had civilians caught in the crossfire were always the worst.

"Ezra, we're in the clear in the loading bay, tell me you took care of the backup," Kana said over the comms. Ezra was the closest to the position - he could see three stormtroopers standing directly to the left of the upturned shipping crates. A flash of dark hair and wide eyes peeked over the top before a stray shot of blaster fire made them duck for cover once more. He steadied himself, reaching for the Force, and then jumped to his feet, sending off three bolts before he was forced to dive behind his makeshift cover once more. A muffled cry and the crunch of plastoid armour hitting duracrete told him that he'd managed to hit at least one of them, but the others were still approaching.

Normally he'd take the opportunity to leap at them with lightsaber drawn, but-

"Ezra! Come in!" He huffed and fumbled for the comm.

"I hear you, Kanan, I'm on it, just- gimme a second, there are some civvies trapped under fire here. Just get the shipment and make sure Hera's ready to fly!"

A hand tugged at his sleeve, and he looked over at the civilian crouching with him behind the cover. "Please," she whispered, tears running over the brightly coloured clan tattoos on her cheeks. "You have to save her!"

"You're _both_  going to be fine," Ezra assured her. The Kiffar woman gulped. "Listen, I'm going to go get them. You have to _stay calm_ , and stay hidden until I say it's clear to come out, alright?"

"Okay," she said, still whispering. Ezra nodded, steadied himself, then rolled out from cover, springing up before the troopers could adjust their aim from where he'd been a moment ago. As he'd suspected, the reinforcements they'd called for were making their way down the long corridor leading from the room, and a second after he saw them there was a shout of recognition. He ducked a round of fire, then closed his eyes and PUSHED.

The stormtroopers skidded backwards; the Force push hadn't been as strong as he'd hoped, but it was enough of a distracted for him to pull his lightsaber and sink it into the door panel, slamming them shut and hopefully keeping them that way.

"It's safe, you can come out!" he called. The woman who'd been trapped with him stood instantly, frantically climbing her way out from behind the barrier Ezra had pulled together. The two hidden behind the crates were more hesitant - the one he'd glimpsed, with a puff of dark hair and large eyes, poked her head up cautiously, but at the sight of the other woman, she let out a cry and stood, racing to meet her halfway in a desperate hug. Ezra went to the other civilian, offering them a hand to help them to their feet, but not before he saw the two women kiss, still wrapped up in each other.

The other civilian, a Human, seemed to want to give the couple some privacy for a moment as well, and offered their injured arm for Ezra to inspect. It was a clean cut, probably made from a panicked move when the shooting started - running past a sharp edge, maybe, or from hitting the corner of the crate they'd been hiding behind. "You can patch it up on our ship," Ezra offered, and they smiled gratefully.

The two women joined them, still tearfully clinging to each other's hands. "Thank you," the one who'd been trapped next to Ezra said. "My name is Sarasri, and my wife, Danari - you saved us. Your weapon..."

They'd seen his lightsaber. Kanan was going to be so mad... "We have to get out of here," he said instead. "Come on, our ship is this way."

\---

Much later, after Ezra had fetched the medkit for the Human civilian, and Kanan and Sabine had calmed the two Kiffar women down slightly, and all three of them had been safely dropped off away from the Imperial spaceport, Ezra was sitting in the docking area, thinking.

Kanan was still on the docking bay floor, checking their haul against the list Sabine was reading off. Hera had been here a minute ago, overseeing and discussing their next mission, already sent through from the Admiral. Her voice was calm as always, although she playfully shot back when Kanan interjected with a sarcastic comment. She'd left, rolling her eyes, when Chopper had arrived with a metallic yell, followed quickly by Zeb, who more thoroughly explained about an irregular glitch in their systems. Nothing serious, but she might want to look over it all the same, he'd said, and she'd gone without a word. Kanan had barely looked up.

They were a couple, he was sure of it. Or at least... he had been sure. Hera was always calling Kanan pet names, which he dimly remembered his parents doing for each other. Kanan was always giving Hera loving looks - or, what Ezra imagined to be loving looks. And he still clearly remembered what she'd said to them right before they'd gone out into battle, seemingly ages ago: "Make mom and dad proud." There was no question as to who she was referring to.

But, he also remembered, a while before that, when they'd recovered Kanan from the Inquisitors and brought him back to the Ghost. Hera had obviously been hurt by their separation, and emotional at seeing him again, and yet... they had hugged. It hadn't been anything out of the ordinary back then, nothing to think further on, but after seeing the two Kiffar women reuniting after only a few minutes of harrowing danger...

 "It's all here - good work today, Sabine," Kanan said, clapping Sabine on the shoulder. She smiled at the praise - "make mom and dad proud" indeed. 

"I'm going to work on some pieces until we drop out of hyperspace," she said, placing the datapad she had been consulting on top of one of the crates. "That woman Danari gave me a fresh eye on some things. See you out front when we reach the fleet?"

"I'll let you know," Kanan said. She left, climbing the ladder and giving Ezra a wave as she passed him on the raised platform. He saluted back, then went back to looking at Kanan - who was looking right back at him. Oops.

"Something on your mind, kid?" he asked, sounding amused. 

"No," Ezra said. "Maybe."

Kanan regarded him for a moment, then headed for the ladder and made his way up to the platform. Ezra watched as he sat himself next to Ezra, arms on the railing and legs dangling over the edge. Sitting in the same way, right next to each other, maybe they did look like father and son. The thought hurt, a little, the wound of his parents' death still slightly raw, but it also made him feel warm, kind of. Happy. 

"Why don't you ever and Hera ever kiss in front of us?" he said, surprising himself slightly. "You don't have to worry about embarrassing us, or grossing us out or anything - I mean, it'd be kind of embarrassing, but it's not like we don't know or anything." He cut himself off, then finally looked over at Kanan.

The man was looking at him with an expression that Ezra couldn't place. "I mean," he started, only to be interrupted by a short laugh.

"Don't hurt yourself, kid," Kanan said with a smile. "We don't kiss in front of you guys because we don't kiss when you're not there, either."

"But- so you're not-?" 

"It's a little complicated," Kanan answered. He leaned his chin forward onto his arms, looking over the loading bay thoughtfully. "We're partners, and we love each other. Just... not in the way you're thinking."

"So you're... friends?" Even as Ezra said it, Kanan was shaking his head.

"No, it's- well, yes, of course we are, but-" He exhaled heavily, leaning back again and running a hand over his chin. "Maybe you should ask Hera about it. It's more common in her culture, she has all the words for it."

"Huh. Uh, okay," Ezra said, still confused. He pulled his legs back onto the platform and stood, brushing himself off a little. Kanan stayed sitting, although he looked over at Ezra with an expression that almost seemed... cautious. "I don't mind, or anything," he added, just in case. "As long as you guys are happy."

Kanan blinked, and then gave a small smile, standing up so he could ruffle Ezra's hair. "You're a good kid, Ezra," he said, and Ezra couldn't help but smile. "You're parents would be proud of you, y'know?"

 _Make mom and dad proud_. "They'd be glad I'm with you," he said. Kanan's hand stilled where it had fallen to his shoulder. "How you and Hera take care of us - they'd like you."

For a few seconds, Kanan didn't say anything. Then he squeezed Ezra's shoulder and looked away with a cough. "Go talk to Hera - and ask her how that glitch in the system is going," he said, voice slightly rough. Ezra didn't mention it. "Oh, and, uh... thanks."

\---

The door to the cockpit slid open to reveal Hera in the pilot's seat, looking out at the stars peacefully. She glanced back when Ezra made no move to enter.

"We'll be in hyperspace for another half an hour or so," she said, gesturing for him to sit in the seat opposite. "Was there something you needed?"

"Uh... not really," he said, but sat down anyway. "Kanan asked me to check if you'd figured out the system glitch."

"Just a bit of code failure," she replied, shaking her head dismissively. "Chopper took care of it. Wanna tell me what you really came in for?"

Sometimes she saw through him just a little too well. "Kanan said that you two aren't... a couple? But you are? He told me to ask you," he added, somewhat helplessly. Hera laughed softly.

 "It's not as complicated as he probably made it sound," she tells him. "My people call it 'zuccara' - a partnership without romance, but deeper than what you'd consider friendship. A lot of other species and cultures have their own versions."

 "Really? I've never heard of it," Ezra said, apologetic. Hera smiled wryly.

"Well," she said, "it  _is_ a lot less common than just plain old romance. We get our fair share of assumptions." She shrugged, lekku waving. "Most of the time it's easier to let people think what they want."

Ezra looked down at his lap, hands fidgeting for a moment. "Did- did you let us all assume, because you thought we wouldn't understand?" he asked. The thought of Hera and Kanan having to keep a secret out of caution for their -  _his_ \- reaction made his stomach churn uneasily, but the feeling was calmed when a calloused hand reached out and took his.

"We didn't say anything because you're all our family," Hera said quietly. "We know how much you care about us, Ezra, so we never had to hide anything - we could just be ourselves. That's something we couldn't do for a long time, and you'll never know how grateful we are to all of you for letting us have that. We care about you so much, Ezra, and I'm sorry if we made you doubt that."

If he was blinking faster than normal, Hera didn't mention it. "You didn't," Ezra said, trying not to sniff. "Sorry I had to ask you about it."

Hera's face softened, and she leaned out of her chair to wrap an arm around him, just for a few seconds. "That's alright, Ezra," she said, and then with more humour, "You expect a lot of questions, when you have kids." She sat back in the pilot's chair and tapped on the console, gracefully ignoring Ezra as he frantically swiped at his eyes. "It'll still be a while 'til we reach the fleet," she said, as calm and casual as ever. "How about you get Kanan to put some food together? I'll join you in a minute."

Ezra nodded, standing up and heading for the door, before pausing. "Thanks for... y'know," he said. Hera simply looked at him with a warm smile before turning back to the console. When the door slid shut, she crossed her arms over the steering yoke and rested her chin on them, looking up at the stars streaking towards them, gone in a fraction of an instant.

"Thank you," she murmured, and to who or for what, even she wasn't sure. 


End file.
